TYLER – The UT Tyler athletic program has finished No. 23 nationally and is the top NCAA Division III program in Texas along with leading the American Southwest Conference for the fourth straight year after the release of the final 2015-16 NCAA Division III Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings.

The 17 athletic programs at UT Tyler had another incredible year of competition, led by the softball program which won the 2016 NCAA DIII National Championship, the women’s golf team which finished as NCAA DIII National Runner-ups and the women’s basketball team which advanced to the Elite 8. The 2015-16 seasons included NCAA tournament appearances in baseball, cross country, softball, men’s golf, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, women’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s golf and an individual national championship with Whitney Simmons winning the DIII hammer throw.

UT Tyler’s success was unrivaled within the ASC with Hardin-Simmons second at No. 141 in the Learfield standings, followed by Texas Dallas (No. 200), Mary Hardin-Baylor (216), Concordia (234) and East Texas Baptist (278). The Tigers of Trinity were the closest to the Patriots in the state of Texas at No. 41, while TLU tied UTD and Southwestern finished at No. 214.

The Patriots had their best finish in the standings last season at No. 16.

Williams won its 19th Division III Learfield Directors’ Cup, capturing its 19th title out of 21 that have been awarded since 1995-96 and will be honored at the 2016 NACDA Convention during the Learfield Directors’ Cup Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 14. UT Tyler finished with 548 points, led by 100 points from softball, 90 in women’s golf, 64 in men’s tennis, 52 in men’s golf, 50 in baseball, women’s track & field (46) and women’s tennis (25).

Williams scored in 16 (9 women’s/7 men’s) of the maximum 18 sports, having one score omitted on the women’s side due to scoring in 10 total women’s sports. The Ephs recorded a pair of national titles on the women’s side, cross country and soccer, and recorded a runner-up finish in men’s cross country, its highest finish on the men’s side. Washington-St. Louis finished second overall for the third time in Cup history, recording 1013 total points, with its highest finish coming in women’s soccer (2nd). The Bears scored in 15 of 18 sports. Emory scored 969 points to finish third overall for the first time in Cup history. The Eagles captured two national championships on the women’s side, swimming and tennis. For the first time since the inception of the Cup, Tufts has finished in the top five with 882.25 total points. Tufts scored in 15 total sports with its highest finish coming on the women’s side, second in basketball. Finishing out the top five is Middlebury with 860.50 total points, scoring in 15 total sports, including national titles in field hockey and women’s lacrosse. This is the 15th time in Cup history that Middlebury has finished in the top five.

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) led all conferences with four institutions in the top 10.

The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in up to 14 sports in Division II – seven men’s and seven women’s; and 18 sports in Division III – nine women’s and nine men’s.